The Prodigy and the Demon
by DemonGirl13
Summary: Warning: Yaoi. meaning man on man! For those who like, enjoy What if Ryoma and Akaya met before and were bestfriends when Ryoma was still living in America? What if they fell in love? Brat Pair. a.k.a. Akya KiriharaXRyoma Echizen. K For now.
1. Chapter 1

The Prodigy and the The Demon

The Prodigy and the The Demon

Disclaimer: Like many of you, I too, do not own Prince of Tennis.

Warning: Yaoi now. The pairing is AkayaXRyoma. A.k.a. Brat Pair.

Summary: What if Ryoma and Kirihara met before back when Ryoma was still living in America? What if they were the best of friends? What if they fell in love?

Chapter 1: Reunion.

Kirihara Akaya sighed. He had fallen asleep on the bus when he was on the way to do some shopping for the Rikkai Dai tennis club.

"Man… Sanada fukubuchou is going to kill me!" though the second year Ace.

"And we have a practice match with Hyotei today too!" he sighed again, taking his phone out. After a few rings, Jackal picked up.

"Hello senpai. It's Akaya." The other person hummed a response.

"Akaya, where are you?" asked Jackal. Kirihara laughed nervously.

"Well you see senpai, I sort of fell asleep on the bus…" he said sheepishly.

"Akaya. You know we have a practice match against Hyotei Gakuen today right?" Jackal asked in a somewhat exasperated tone. "Anyway… Where are you?" he continued to ask.

"Eh... Umm... I'm at... Where am I?" He said while looking around.

"I'm at Seishun Gakuen." He responded. Jackal was twitching on the other line.

"Akaya… Our school is in Kanagawa... It'll take you hours to get back here." Jackal said.

"Gomen senpai." He said sheepishly.

"I'll tell Yukimura buchou… Just get back here as soon as possible." Jackal before hanging up the phone.

Kirihara put his cell phone away. A grin made it across his face.

"Might as well do some scouting." He said happily, walking over to where he suspected the tennis courts were.

Meanwhile.

"Where's Echizen?" asked Momoshiro as both he and Eiji searched the courts for their favorite chibi.

"Ryoma is the Library rep today. He'll be here soon." Said Katchiro. Momo and Eiji groaned.

"Mou! I want to see Ochibi-chan now!!" whined Eiji as he glomped his doubles partner, Oishi who was standing not too far away from them.

Oishi, used to being glomped on by the hyperactive teen smiled.

"He'll be here soon." He said. Fuji smiled and walked over to them.

"Speak of the devil. There he is now." He said, pointing to the short figure that was heading towards the clubroom. In a flash, Eiji had unlatched himself from Oishi and ran towards the clubroom.

"Ochibi!!" he screamed before glomping the short boy. Ryoma stumbled a bit, rapidly turning blue.

"Ki-kumaru senpai! Let go." He choked out. Eiji, seeing his Ochibi-chan turning blue, gasped and let go.

"Gomen Ochibi." He said with a sheepish grin. Ryoma shook his head.

"Iya... It's okay senpai." He said. Oishi walked up to them.

"Echizen, you'd better get changed." He said with a kind smile. Then he turned to Eiji.

"Eiji… You shouldn't have glomped Echizen like that. He could have tripped!" Oishi said, mother hen mode on full mode.

"Nya! Gomen Oishi!" Eiji said as he glomped his doubles partner. Ryoma shook his head and went into the clubroom to change.

With Akaya Kirihara-kun

"Heh… So this is the Seigaku Tennis club huh?" he mussed, walking into the courts. Oishi spotted him and went over.

"Ano… You're not a member of this club, are you? What are you doing here?" he said with a smile. Kirihara turned to him with a sheepish look.

"No…. I'm Kirihara Akaya, 2nd year Ace of Rikkai Dai… And you can say I'm a spy." He said with a thoughtful look. Oishi eye's widened.

'Rikkai?!' thought most of the club members.

Akaya's eyes suddenly caught sight of Tezuka and with a grin; he made his way over to him.

"Hey. You're the captain of Seigaku, Tezuka Kunimitsu right? You beat my senpai before. What do you say we have a match?" he asked. Tezuka turned to him, an un-amused look on his face.

"Perhaps… If you bring a formal letter from your club." He answered. Kirihara scowled.

"Oh come on! Just one game!" he asked. Annoying some of the club members.

"Why you! Don't be so disrespectful towards our captain!" fumed Arai. He grabbed a ball and hit it towards Kirihara.

"Eat this!" he yelled. Oishi looked shocked.

"Arai you fool!" he yelled. But before the ball even reached Kirihara, it was intercepted by none other that Ryoma.

"Ne senpai, how can you say that he was being rude while you tried to attack him from behind?" questioned Ryoma with a scowl. Kirihara turned to look at the one who saved him. His eyes widened as he saw the emerald tinted hair beneath a familiar white cap. The golden, cat like eyes turned to him and also widened in shock.

Kirihara was the first to spoke.

"Ryo-chan… Is that you?!" he asked. Everyone on the courts froze. Did the strange Rikkai boy just called their anti-social prince Ryo-chan?!

"99.99 Echizen will yell at him…" Inui muttered. Everyone was silent, waiting for the explosion. What they didn't expect was Ryoma to run up to the boy and hug him!

"Aka-chan!" he said, a smile on his face. Kirihara hugged him back. The regulars were in shock. The club members were frozen. Horio actually shut up. Did their anti-social prince call the strange Rikkai boy Aka-_chan?!_ Needles to say, some regulars, meaning Kawamura fainted in shock. The freshman duo was holding up their third member, Horio who had also passed out.

"It's good to see you again Ryon-Ryon." Kirihara said, nuzzling the younger boy affectionately.

"Un… What are you doing here Aka-chan?" Ryoma asked, staying in the embrace, much to everyone's disbelief. The two of them seem to have forgotten the entire Seigaku tennis club's presence.

Kirihara laughed sheepishly.

"To tell you the truth, I actually fell asleep on the bus and missed my stop." He said. The people who had heard the previous excuse were twitching in anger.

'_So he actually fell asleep?!' _They all thought. Deciding they were ignored enough, Fuji spoke up.

"Though it is a rear chance to see Ryoma so open… Might I ask how you two know each other?" he asked, blue eyes revealed. Ryoma jumped back from the embrace, blushing slightly. Kirihara stared at them with a blank look.

"Oh… your still here." He said. Everyone twitched.

'That brat!' they all thought, especially Arai.

"We're still in the middle of practice Aka-chan." Ryoma said with a small smile, awe-ing the tennis club. Kirihara nodded.

"Well to answer you're question Fuji Syuusuke, me and Ryo are best friends!" Kirihara said as he glomped Ryoma in a Kikumaru-ish fashion. Momoshiro bristled at this. So did Eiji when he saw his Ochibi-chan not struggle and actually smile.

"Mou… Ochibi-chan doesn't like it when I glomped him." Eiji said with a pout.

'_That's because you hug too tight…' _the regulars thought.

"I see…" Fuji said with a pleasant smile.

"Hmm... Iie data… How long have you known each other?" Inui asked, note book out. Kirihara scratched his head.

"Since we were kids… I used to live in America but we moved when I was 11." Kirihara stated. He turned to Ryoma. Anyway Ryo-chan, help me find my way back home okay!" he said happily, dragging Ryoma to get his stuff before departing.

"Echizen just skipped practice…" Horio said in disbelief as they watched the duo happily chat together while leaving for the clubroom. The sun caught Tezuka's glasses.

"He runs 50 laps at tomorrow's morning practice." He said with a stoic expression.

'Geh! Buchou is scary…' everyone thought and continued to practice.

TBC….

A/N: I sortta have writers block for my other fic ; so I decided to write something new in the mean time! Like it? Hate it? Reviews are appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

The Prodigy and the The Demon

The Prodigy and the The Demon

Disclaimer: Like many of you, I too, do not own Prince of Tennis.

Warning: Yaoi now. The pairing is AkayaXRyoma. A.k.a. Brat Pair.

Summary: What if Ryoma and Kirihara met before back when Ryoma was still living in America? What if they were the best of friends? What if they fell in love?

A/N: WOW! Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews! I seem to have converted Brat Pair Lovers! xD Thanks for the support! BTW, Jiroh is Ryoma's cousin.

Chapter 2: Meeting the family.

As they got off the bus, Ryoma sighed.

"Mou… Aka-chan! You're harder to wake than Jiroh!" Ryoma said in a childish tone. Kirihara rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry Ryon-Ryon… I didn't get much sleep last night. Nee-chan was watching her horror films and asked me to keep her company." He said with a shudder. Ryoma shivered slightly.

"Akira nee-chan is still into scary movies huh?" Ryoma asked as he followed Kirihara down a street. Kirihara could only nod, a look of pure horror on his face.

"Not only that, she's started to collect all sorts of scary things. From fake blood to skull!" he said with an exaggerated hand motion. Ryoma couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"Wow… Akira-nee sure has gotten scarier." He said with a slight comical sweat drop. Kirihara nodded.

"You have no idea!" he said with a sigh. Finally the duo reached a rather large, double storey house. In the yard was a pretty woman with her hair up in a semi-messy bun. She wore a long sleeved, grey turtleneck over a knee long skirt and had on a pair of sandals. She also wore an apron and was currently tending to a bonsai.

"Oka-san! Look at who I brought home!" Kirihara said in a happy tone. The lady turned around, a sweet smile on her face. Her smile dropped for a second as she caught sight of Ryoma before returning, bigger, brighter and sweeter than ever.

"Are, is that Ryoma-chan?" she asked, walking up to the two boys. Ryoma smiled at her, nodding his head.

"Hello Ayako ba-chan." He said politely. Ayako Kirihara smiled and hugged him.

"Hello Ryoma-chan. It's good to see you again." She said before ushering the two boys in.

"You both must be hungry. I made some cookies earlier." Ayako said in a motherly tone.

"Thanks kaa-san." Kirihara said as he sat down at the table. Ryoma sitting beside him after putting his bag at the entrance way. As Kirihara's mother busied herself, the two teens took the opportunity to catch up on each other.

"So Ryo, when did you move to Japan?" Kirihara asked. Ryoma shrugged.

"About six months ago. How are things at Rikkai?" he asked. Kirihara grinned.

"The tennis club is full of monsters! We have to win or not Sanada fukubuchou slaps us with his almighty 'Pimp Slap.'" Akaya said with a shiver. Ryoma's eyes widened.

"P-Pimp Slap?!" he said in horror as an image of an unknown man wearing the cliché pimp outfit made its way into his mind. He promptly turned green.

"Bad image Aka-chan… very bad…" he said with a shudder as Kirihara laughed.

"My, you boys look so cute together!" came Ayako's voice as she sat down the plate of cookies and iced tea on the table. Ryoma and Kirihara thanked her.

"I need to get a picture of you two!" she said with a giggle and wondered off to find a camera, shojo bubbles around her. Ryoma and Kirihara sweatdroped.

"Sorry bout that Ryon-Ryon. Kaa-san really misses you." Akaya said with a smile. Ryoma smiled back at him.

"I'm sure my mom would have done the same." Ryoma said as Ayako came back with a camera in hand.

"Say cheese!" she said before snapping a photo of the two pre-teens eating cookies, crumbs over their mouth and looking absolutely adorable.

"Oka-san!" Kirihara whined as his mom giggled.

"I'm sorry Aka-chan! But you and Ryo-chan look absolutely adorable together!" she squealed as the two teens sweat dropped.

"Finish up eating you two! I'll send Ryoma-chan back after you're done!" Ayako said with a smile as she went outside to do who knows what. Kirihara and Ryoma laughed.

"Let's play with my PS 2 Ryo! I have some new 2 player's game. It'll be fun to play with someone other than nee-chan and Niou, Marui and Jackal senpai." Kirihara said as he dragged his short friend to his room. Ryoma could only laugh.

"I'll beat you if it's a fighting game Aka-chan!" he said with a smirk. Kirihara snorted.

"Yeah right! I could beat you with my eyes closed Ryo!" Kirihara said with an equally bratty smirk. The duo grinned as Kirihara out in a fighting game and set it to versus mode.

"The winner…" Akaya started.

"Will be me." Ryoma finished as Kirihara pushed the start battle.

An all out game war was commenced!

A few hours later.

"So that makes it our 17th tie." Kirihara said as their fighters died together.

"Yup. That mean you're ahead of me by one game!" Ryoma said with a pout. Kirihara found it adorable and pinched Ryoma's cheeks.

"That's cute Ryon-Ryon." He said with a laugh. Ryoma scowled and mock glared him.

"I'll beat you next time Akaya-chan~" Ryoma said, prolonging the 'chan'. Kirihara twitched slightly.

"Off course Ryoma-_chan~_" he countered, stressing the chan. The duo glared at each other before breaking out in uncontrollable laughs.

"Seriously, it's good to have you back Ryoma." Kirihara said with a soft smile. Ryoma felt his heart beat skip.

"You too Akaya." Ryoma said with his own smile, making Kirihara blushed a bit. Though the blush was not noticeable. Suddenly, the door slammed opened and Ryoma was glomped by a flurry of red, black and white.

"Ryoma-neko!" the blur shouted, hugging him to death. Only one person called Ryoma that. The two pre-teens sighed. Ryoma hugged the blur back.

"Nice to see you too Kira nee-chan." Ryoma said in a slightly muffled voice. Akira Kirihara let her favorite hug toy go. The 18 year old girl smiled down at Ryoma before pinching his cheeks.

"Awwww!!!! You've gotten cuter Ryoma-neko!" she said with a giggle. Her long black hair was tied in a bun by a skull rubber band. She wore a stripped shirt and jeans with multiple belts and chains.

"Where'd you go nee-chan?" Akaya asked her.

"Oh… I went to watch the Horror Movie Marathon with some of my friends." She said with a bright smile, making Akaya and Ryoma sweat drop.

"I.. see…" Akaya said with a slight chuckle.

Ryoma glanced at the clock in Akaya's room.

"Oh no! Mom might get worried.' He thought as he took out his phone.

"Akaya, Kira nee, I'm going to call my mom so she doesn't get the police." Ryoma said as he dialed home.

A few rings later.

"Ryoma? Where are you?" came Ryoma's mother's, Echizen Rinko's, worried voice.

"Mom, it's okay. I'm at Aka-chan's house." He said. There was a pause before a loud squeal.

"You don't mean Akaya Kirihara do you hun?" Rinko asked excitedly.

"That's the one oka-san." Ryoma said and winced slightly when his mothere squealed again.

"Is Ayako there? How is she? How are the two of you getting along? How's dear Akira-chan?" Rinko asked in high speed that Ryoma had trouble understanding.

"Yes Ayako ba-chan is here. She's fine. Me and Akaya? Were good. Kira nee-chan gave me the hug of the century." Ryoma responded as his mother giggled on the other line.

"When will you be home dear?" she asked.

"Ayako ba-chan's sending me home." Ryoma replied.

"Good! Ask them to dinner while your at it!" Rinko said and hug up. Ryoma was speechless. He turned off his phone and turned to Akya who looked at him expectantly.

"Mom wants you're family over for dinner Aka-chan." Ryoma said after a brief moment of silence. Akira who heard grinned before running outside to tell their mom. In a blink, Akaya was sent to the bathroom for a bath.

"We'd love to come!" Ayako-san said as she hugged Ryoma.

"Just give us a moment to get ready dear." She said to Ryoma before scampering off to find Akaya something decent to wear. She came out of his closet with a nice black button up shirt and some clean jeans.

"I'm sorry but Kyohei-kun can't make it Ryoma. He has work." Ayako said to Ryoma. Ryoma nodded.

"It's okay. Kyohei jii-san is usually busy." Ryoma said as Ayako nodded. She smiled at Ryoma.

"Wait here for Aka-chan and make sure he wears these ok Ryoma?" she said before making her exit.

"I'll go get ready." She said, leaving Ryoma in the room.

'Well.. This will be interesting.' Ryoma thought with a smirk.

TBC……………

(A/N: How was it? Good? Bad? Review!!!)


	3. Chapter 3

The Prodigy and the The Demon

Disclaimer: Like many of you, I too, do not own Prince of Tennis.

Warning: Yaoi now. The pairing is AkayaXRyoma. A.k.a. Brat Pair.

Summary: What if Ryoma and Kirihara met before back when Ryoma was still living in America? What if they were the best of friends? What if they fell in love?

A/N: Hey! And yes, I didn't die~ A little stressed but no I did not die~ Sorry for prolonging the wait people!

Chapter 2: Dinner Fiasco.

A few moments later, Akaya was out of the bath and into the clothes his mother picked out for him. Ryoma had to say, his best friend looked great in the black buttoned up and slightly loose jeans. Akaya's hair was actually tamed after about ten minutes of struggling on both Akaya's and Ryoma's art.

"Aka-chan… You're hair is harder to tame than mine." Ryoma finally said after the successfully combed out Akaya's usually unruly hair into something not quite messy but not neat either.

It was a rather stylish look that fitted Akaya's current image. (Think Tamaki Suoh from Ouran, only in black.)

"I'll say! This took about 5 minutes more than when we had to style your hair for that play in school back when we were in America!" Akaya groused out as the both of them made their way downstairs to await the females.

Ryoma blushed.

"Didn't I tell you never to mention the play, ever?" Ryoma said giving Akaya a look, crossed between embarrassed and annoyed. Akaya laughed.

"Come on Ryon-Ryon! It wasn't THAT bad!" Akaya said with a teasing smile.

"You made a rather convincing Owen Wilson." He said with a laugh as he remembered the play from 3 years ago. The teacher had decided they would do a play based off a movie and lucky Ryoma was picked to play the main character who was partnered with a cop who had an afro and a semi-monster truck. Akaya couldn't recall the name but he remembered that even at nine years old, Ryoma looked pretty hot in jeans and that tight shirt. He blushed at the thought. Akaya had always found Ryoma attractive but he never thought about being 'attracted' to Ryoma 'that' way. He decided to change the subject.

"Hey Ryo-chan… Have they… found anything about Ryoga-nii?" Akaya asked in a low voice. Ryoma's mood visibly turned gloomy.

'Stupid! Of all things you had to mention his brother?!' Akaya scolded himself.

"No… The police weren't able to track him. But I know his safe wherever he is." Ryoma spoke in a low voice, filled with sadness. Ryoma loved his older brother, not that he's mentioned it out loud, and the older Echizen disappearance was a heavy toll on Ryoma who was four when it happened. Akaya hugged Ryoma in a comforting embrace, apologizing for bringing up Ryoma's older brother.

A few minutes later, both Akira Kirihara and Ayako Kirihara were downstairs; both dressed in a pair of designer jeans and a matching top.

"Let's go!" chirped Ayako as the four set off to Ryoma's house.

(This is a line dammit!) (This is a line dammit!) (This is a line dammit!)

Nanjirou Echizen was lazing about before he heard his wife squeal in delight. He looked up from where he was on the floor to see his wife talking to Ryoma? What could the boy have said that could get his wife so… Hyper? As she hung up Rinko practically flew at him, telling him to go shower and freshen up and that they were having guest. Nanjirou couldn't help but grin.

"Why? Is the kid bringing over a girlfriend?" he asked as he got up and went to see as his wife busied herself in the kitchen.

"No! Nanjirou, Ryo-chan's bringing the Kirihara's for dinner! Yes the same Kirihara who we were friends with back in America! Now hurry up and shower!" she said as she called Nanako to help her cook. They were going to be having a Japanese styled dinner tonight.

"Oh you mean Aka-chan's family?! I haven't seen them in years! How did the brat find them?" Nanjirou asked as he made his way to the stairs.

"I don't know but I'm sure we have a lot of catching up to do! I wonder how big Akaya-chan and Akira-chan have gotten now. Akira should probably be 18 years old now." Rinko said as both she and Nanako started to prepare the simple but exquisite dishes. Nanjirou just hm-ed a response before trotting off to go freshen up and maybe shave.

Unbeknownst to him, It wasn't just the Kirihara's he would be meeting.

(This is a line dammit!) (This is a line dammit!) (This is a line dammit!)

A few blocks before reaching the Echizen household, a lone figure, carrying nothing more than a map, an address he had gotten from the directory and an orange of al thing's, was walking at a leisurely pace.

He looked about seventeen years old. His emerald tinted hair was shoulders length and tied into a small ponytail at the base of his neck. His eyes were a mix between fold and brown as he munched on the orange, occasionally looking at his map.

'I wonder how Oyaji, Oka-san and Chibisuke are going to take to me being here after disappearing for nearly six years. I wonder… If they'll even remember me.' He thought as he winked at some girls who were throwing him looks.

'Well, can't turn back now that I've made up my mind to come see them.' The figure thought as he continued his pace.

'All I can do is… Hope for the best.' He thought.

(This is a line dammit!) (This is a line dammit!) (This is a line dammit!)

As Nanjirou came down the stairs, dressed in slacks and a nice shirt, face shaved and looking the part of a respectable husband, instead of a perverted monk, his nose was assaulted by the delicious and tantalizing scent coming from the kitchen. He made his way there and gawked at what could be considered, a mini banquet.

Rinko and Nanako had pulled all the stops on this one. He turned to see his wife, smiling that beautiful smile of her's as she patiently waited for their guests and son.

"Rinko-chan, you are amazing." Nanjirou said with a smile as he sat down on the couch, arm wrapped around his wife lovingly as he gave her a peck on the cheek.

Rinko smiled and kissed her husband.

It was times like these that made marrying Nanjirou a worth while thing. He was sweet when he wasn't being a pervert.

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang and both Echizen's were at the door. Opening it, Rinko gave Ayako and Akira a hug while Nanjirou grinned at Akaya and Ryoma, motioning them to get inside.

"Ayako-chan! I missed you so much! And look at how big Akira-chan and Aka-chan are!" Rinko said as the Kirihara's and Ryoma made their way inside,

"Likewise Rinko-chan! I was surprised to see Ryo-chan at our house today!" Ayako said smiling at her friend. She turned and smiled at Nanjirou.

"Aren't you looking dashing today Nanji-kun." Ayako said teasingly. Nanjirou laughed and grinned good naturedly at her.

"When am I not?" he asked with a grin as Ryoma and Akaya snorted a laugh. Akira grinned.

"Same old Uncle Jiro." Akira said, in which Nanjirou protested, saying;

"I am not old!" Ryoma and Akaya burst out laughing.

"No Oyaji! You're ancient!" Ryoma said with a smirks, setting off another fit of laughter. Rinko and Nanjirou were surprised to say the least to see Ryoma joking and laughing like he used to.

'Just like before Aka-chan left.' They thought with a smile. As the group went into the kitchen and saw the mini banquet, Akaya and Ryoma's stomach's growled at the sight and scent, making the adults laugh.

"You boys sound hungry." Rinko said teasingly as they all sat down at the table.

"Well, let's chat after dinner. Right now, dig in." Rinko said as they all complied.

Dinner went off swimmingly well. Akira and Nanako were getting along great as were the three adults. Ryoma and Akaya were busy stuffing themselves and enjoying the food.

Not 15 minutes later, the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of someone.

"Ryoma, could you get that?" Rinko asked her son who nodded. Ryoma stood up and walked to the front door, opening it, he gaped at the sights. There, standing at the door was, dare he believe it. His older brother. Ryoga, grinning at him with that same cocky smirk he had so often worn.

"Hello… Chibisuke." Ryoga said and that was all it took for Ryoma to tackle hug his brother, nearly in tears as he cried out for everyone to hear;

"Ryoga-nii! You're back!"

TBC….

A/N: Bet you didn't see this coming huh? XD Ryoga has come back to the family~ Why? Cuz I love him and there isn't many fics about Ryoga and Ryoma getting along. Ryoma is a tad OOC along with Nanjirou but who could blame em? Read, review and draw me art dammit! XD the last one was a joke but if you were willing~


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Holy spits! I've been gone for so damn long! O.O I just realized it! Well... Not really. I had realized it but I'm so damn busy! I effing hate additional math and chem.!!! *shoots self*

Anyways, on with the next chapter.

_**Previously.**_

"_Hello… Chibisuke." Ryoga said and that was all it took for Ryoma to tackle hug his brother, nearly in tears as he cried out for everyone to hear;_

"_Ryoga-nii! You're back!"_

Chapter 3 : The Return of Ryoga Echizen

Nanjirou and Rinko looked at each other in shock before the couple, plus Akaya, Akira, Ayako and Nanako ran out to the doorway to see that indeed, Echizen Ryoga, first born son of Echizen Nanjirou and Echizen Rinko was back.

Nanjirou's eyes widened and he stood their gaping like a fish while Rinko ran over to her son and hugged him tightly, nearly suffocating her eldest and youngest son.

"Ryoga! My baby's come back.. Honey where were you?! We looked everywhere!" Rinko asked the questions that were plaguing her family's minds for year. Akaya, Ayako and Akira all stood, shock, happiness and relief flooding their system. Nanako started crying tears of joy and ran back into the kitchen to prepare an extra plate.

Ryoma escaped from his mother's death hug but still kept a hand on his brothers sleeve, afraid that if he let go, his brother would disappear again.

Ryoga tried to calm his mother down. He smiled at all of them.

"I'll answer you're questions in a bit Kaa-san. Oyaji looks like he's had a heart attack and it looks like I just disrupted you're dinner." He said in a joking manner. Nanjirou closed his gaping mouth before striding to his eldest son and gave him a thwack on the head.

"Ittai!" Ryoga called out, rubbing his now sore head as he looked at his smiling father.

"That, you brat, is for making me, you mother and brother worry about you for all these years. Let's go and eat and after that, you have a lot of explaining to do." Nanjirou said with a voice so full off authority that it shocked everyone into stunned silence.

'Oh my Kami..' was all they could think off, speechless. Ryoga nodded and the two families made their way back into the dining room.

Ryoma had seated himself in between Akaya and Ryoga. Akira was sitting across Ryoga, a light flush on her face that had gone unnoticed by everyone except for her mother who smiled, knowing that her daughter's crush on the other Echizen teen had resurfaced, full force.

After dinner, the Kirihara's left. Akaya gave Ryoma a hug before smiling and wishing him 'luck'. Ryoma gave him a small smile and nodded before he was hugged by Akira and Ayako who promised to visit them all soon. After they left, the Echizen family pilled into the living room. Time for an explanation.

"Well Ryoga, where have you been?" Nanjirou asked as everyone had settled in; voice and expression completely serious. Ryoma was anxious as he watched his older brother sigh, petting Karupin to keep himself calm and collected while Rinko looked on, an anxious expression clearly on his face.

"Well dad, it all happened a few years back, the year I disappeared actually. I was walking back from school when this man in a white limo stopped by. He was a real smooth talker. Talking about how he used to know you. He said that you had hired him to train me right away. So I went with it…" Ryoga started.

He explained how the man who had kidnapped him, only knows as Boss, had trained him and used him for illegal tournament. It wasn't until a few months after Ryoga was abducted that he realized he was actually being used. He went into great detail about how in the end, Boss was found out by the Atobe Company and arrested.

"And this is how I found out about you guys. Atobe-san's son, Keigo said he knew Chibisuke so he pulled some strings and here I am." Ryoga finished. By then, Rinko had wrapped her arms around Ryoga, crying slightly while murmuring 'My poor baby' over and over again. Ryoma and Nanjirou sat, perplexed, shocked and well… there wasn't really a word to describe their exact feeling.

'Geez… I actually have Monkey King to thank?' Ryoma thought, but dismissed it. He was just glad Ryoga was home.

"Well Ryoga… That was some story." Nanjirou said with a sigh, standing up. Rinko followed suit, her eyes a little red but a beautiful smile donned her face.

"Come on. Get to bed everyone. I'm sure everyone's tired. We've all had an exciting day! With Ryoma reuniting with Aka-chan and Ryoga coming back." She said. The Echizen males nodded.

"Ryoga, you room with Ryoma for tonight. The guest room is in shambles." Rinko said and watched as her eldest son simply nodded with a grin, ruffling Ryoma's hair as the younger boy pouted.

"S'aite Kaa-san. It gives me some time to bond with Chibisuke. Catch up." He said. Rinko and Nanjirou smiled and nodded, bidding both their sons goodnight they made their way to their room.

Ryoma showed Ryoga to his room. As the older Echizen son went to get ready for bed, Ryoma got out the futon and prepared it. By the time Ryoga exited the bathroom, the futon was all set up and Ryoma was already changed into his PJ's.

"Nii-san…" Ryoma suddenly said as Ryoga sat down on the futon. Ryoga looked up, wondering what Ryoma wanted to say.

"Yes Chibisuke?" he asked, watching in amusement as Ryoma pouted at the nickname.

"I'm not that short anymore." Ryoma said with a half-hearted frown before continuing with what he was about to say. Sitting down in front of his brother, Ryoma looked at Ryoga straight in the eyes; his expression was of happiness, concern and a hint of fear.

"Nii-san, please don't leave us again." He said quietly. Ryoga was startled but he hid it well. Ryoma was gazing at him with a look of hope and Ryoga was hard press not to follow with whatever his little brother wished. Bringing his arms to wrap around his younger sibling, Ryoga pulled Ryoma to his chest, petting his brothers green tinted hair.

"I promise I won't ever disappear without telling you or our parents again Ryoma." Ryoga said, eliciting a tiny laugh from Ryoma. With a smile, the two brothers fell asleep on the futon together.

**The Next Morning.**

The brothers woke up together, Ryoma rejoicing at the fact that it all wasn't some elaborate dream and Ryoga happy that he was finally home. After getting dress, Ryoma in his school uniform and Ryoga in a pair of jeans and a short sleeved t-shirt, the duo made their way down for breakfast where they were greeted by both Echizen parents and Nanako.

"Ohayo." They greeted. Nanjirou grinned, reading his 'newspaper'. Rinko smiled at them and piled their plates with food. They were having a Japanese styled breakfast, Ryoma's and surprisingly enough, Ryoga's favorite. As the family ate, Nanjirou cleared his throat.

"Ryoga, I just got off the phone with Ryoma's tennis team coach. The old hag was looking for someone to train the team while she's going on leave to visit her friend. I told her you were back and she was wondering if you would do it."

Ryoma choked a bit, Ryoga gave him a slight pat on the back and a glass of water. Turning to Nanjirou he raised an eyebrow.

"Sure… Are they any good?" he asked, skecptical. Ryoma was glaring at Nanjirou slightly.

"Sure. There's a couple of brats who Ryoma has yet to beat." Najirou said with a shrug. Ryoga grinned.

"I'm in! I wanna see how good these brats really are." He said. Ryoma sighed.

'This will not end well..' was all he thought before he finished eathing.

TBC.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Yes I know I have been gone a ridiculously long time and leaving my poor, dear readers in a tizzy because I haven't been updating like a good little authoress. For this, I give you all of you my sincere rest apology. I've been a bit busy lately, posting mostly on my deviantart account and on (for all of you who are interested to read my original stories, you can ask for the link) and to make it up to you, this chapter shall be a bit longer.

* * *

Chapter 5

Ryoma woke up the next morning before his alarm clock even went off. A feat that was amazing and unbelievable for anyone to comprehend. Even Karupin was a bit startled before said feline went to doze on its master's warm pillow. The youngest Echizen male was rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, face screwed up in confusion and slight shock.

'Eh? I'm up early….' Was the teen's passing thought before he got up and headed for the bathroom for a nice hot shower. A few minutes later, he was done, wearing his tennis outfit and ready for morning practise. Getting his stuff together, he trudges down the stairs to see his mother and Nanako preparing breakfast. Ryoma saw that besides the two females, his father was also up, reading one of his dirty magazines under the guise of reading the morning newspaper.

"Ohayo…" the short teen said, rubbing one of his eyes as he walked into the kitchen and took a seat, startling all three occupants. Nanjirou gaped, his mouth opening and closing, looking like a fish out of water in his shock. Nanako and Rinko were also surprised to see the young male up and about, early for once.

"Oh my God! We're all going to die! Seishonen is up early!" Nanjirou said, crying out dramatically, effectively bringing the two females out of their stupor and effectively annoying Ryoma. The cat eyed boy twitched, glaring faintly at his father.

"Baka Oyaji." Ryoma muttered at the same time as his mother who yelled out 'Anata!' before hitting her husband across the head with a rolled up magazine, making Ryoma chuckle under his breath as he gave his old man a smirk.

"Ahhh! Ittai yo Rinko-channn…." The perverted monk whined, clutching his head with his hand as he gave his wife his best kicked puppy look. Ryoma didn't know wither to laugh at the expression or be totally creped out when his mother gave in and gave his father a kiss on the forehead to make it up to him.

"Ewwww…." The youngest member of the family said, averting his eyes from his parent's P.D.A. Nanako just gave a soft, girlish giggle as she went about making breakfast. A few moments later, the household heard footsteps from the second floor before Ryoga emerged, wearing a pair of comfortable looking slacks, a black wife beater and a stylish sports jacket. His hair was slightly shorter than Ryoma's and was styled in a messy 'just got out of bed' style. The Echizen family smiled warmly as their long lost son sat at the table, opposite his brother and gave them a still somewhat sleepy greeting.

"Ryoga! I called the baba at Ryoma's school. Seishonen will show you to the courts when he's ready to leave." Nanjirou said as he sat at the table, waiting for the food to be served. Ryoma blinked a couple of times before nodding, a slight sigh escaping his lips.

"What's the matter Chibisuke?" Ryoga said with a slight frown. Only he heard the sigh from his brother but the younger male just gave him a small half smile before shrugging.

"Betsuni…." He mumbled. Ryoga nodded, still feeling a bit worried. Well, he hasn't seen his brother for such a long time. It was a bit awkward but not entirely uncomfortable. The two had a lot of catching up to do and what better way than to do it with tennis? A sport both of them loved?

After several precious minutes ticking by, filled mostly with silence with the exception of Karupin biting Nanjirou's toes and the occasional exclamation from the two females, breakfast was served. It was Japanese style, making a smile bloom on Ryoma's face as he took in the sight of rice, fish, miso soup and some other mouth watering morsels. The family ate together, for once in silence. Usually there would be some rough housing but today, the family thought a nice, quiet breakfast would be best. Ryoma finished up, drinking his two glasses of milk, much to Yoga's amusement.

"What's with the milk Chibisuke? I don't ever recall you being a milk person. You always used to drink Ponta, even when okra-san would chastise you for it." He said with a grin. Ryoma pouted adorably as he explained he was under orders by one of the regulars on the team, intriguing Ryoga further at the mention of data tennis and evil Inui juices that could kill you.

"Sounds like quite the guy. Why don't you tell me about the regular's Ryo? Give me a heads up and what not." The older Echizen said, continuing to grin. Ryoma nodded his head in assent as he started the explanation with his best friend, Momoshiro.

"Well. Momo-senpai is a second year. He's really tall and is a powerhouse player. His signature move is called a Dunk smash. Kindda like basketball dunk. He's laid back and sometimes picks me up for school." He started before moving on to his second choice.

"Kaidoh-senpai is the same age as Momo-senpai and is in the same class. Momo-senpai calls him Mamushi because he acts like a snake. They don't get along very well and always try to out do each other. Kaidoh-senpai is really hard working and kindda scary. I haven't seen him smile once. He has a move called 'Boomerang Snake'. It was based of the buggy whip shot but with a twist. It somehow manages to go around the net into the court." He said as Ryoga nodded his head, listening intently.

"Next is Kawamura-senpai. He's a powerhouse player like Momo-senpai but has a split personality. He's very timid and shy most of the times but when he holds a racket, he totally transforms into a mad man, yelling BURNING! His power also increases and he yells out some English phrases as well." Ryoma said, snorting slightly as his brother gave him an incredulous look that definitely meant 'What the flying heck?"

"Next is Kikumaru-senpai and Oishi-senpai. They are our school doubles pair, also knows as Golden Pair. Oishi-senpai is the fukubuchou and is a worrywart. He's a good baseline player while Kikumaru-senpai is like a cat and specialises in acrobatic tennis. They're best friends and compliment each others playing style." He said, taking a deep breath. He wasn't used speaking this much at one time. Ryoga noticed and gave him a somewhat apologetic grin, motioning him to go on. Ryoma groaned slightly but continued anyway.

"Well next is Fuji-senpai. He's really, really weird. He's called Tensai and only Buchou can win against him." Ryoma said that part with a little pout. He was miffed that he couldn't have a one on one with Fuji-senpai to see who was better. His competitive side was killing him, much to his older brother's amusement. "He has his triple counter's that virtually unbreakable and always plays with his eyes closed unless he's facing any trouble." He sighed before continuing to the final person.

"Last there's Tezuka buchou. He's the strongest out of all of them. He managed to beat Fuji-senpai in less than 5 minutes and has a move called Tezuka zone. I haven't one against him yet. He's stoic and people confuses him for a teacher or adult instead of a student." He said, smirk on his lips. Ryoga starred than finally burst out laughing, shaking his head in amusement.

"No offenses Chibisuke but you're team sounds like a hoot. I can't wait to meet them all." Ryoga said after he finally calmed down, his laughter turning to occasional snorts of amusement. Ryoma snickered along with his brother before glancing at the clock on the wall. He stood up, motioning that they should go. Ryoga nodded and stood up as well, their parent's waving them good bye and wishing Ryoga luck.

* * *

Kirihara Akaya was in so much trouble that even Niou Masaharu felt the need to NOT tease the Demon. When Akaya had arrived to practice that morning, Sanada was waiting for him, an angry tick on his forehead once the black haired second year had stepped onto the court. Akaya was sentenced to run 50 laps before having a match with Yanagi after only a five minute break. Let's just say the poor, black haired demon was in a lot of pain.

"Guwaaa! Sanada fuku0buchou is a slave driver!" he whined, after his match with Yanagi-senpai, losing it 6 – 4. He was so tired he could swear his muscles were screaming at him and cursing furiously.

"Well, it's your fault you missed the match with Hyotei." Marui Bunta said, all the while chewing on his favourite apple flavoured gum. The red head could only watch as Kirihara guzzled down a bottle of ice, cold water, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

"But it was an accident!" he exclaimed, almost pouting. Marui just gave a laugh, ruffling the black locks.

"Well it is Sanada fuku-buchou. You should have known better. Anyway, where did you end up? I heard from Jackal that you ended up at Seigaku but when we called your house, no one picked up." Marui said as Kirihara attempted to fix his messed up hair.

"Huh? Owh… Yeah. I got to Seigaku but then I didn't wanna go back home empty handed so I went to try to get a match with Seigaku's Tezuka." Kirihara said but before he could finish, Niou pounced on him from behind, hearing the last bit of conversation.

"Puri. So did little bakaya get to have his match?" he asked with a teasing tone, pinching the shorter male's cheek. Kirihara angrily swatted at the silver haired male's hand.

"Oi! I'm not an idiot!" he said furiously, rubbing his reddening cheek. "And no. I didn't get to have a match with Tezuka-san. But I did get to meet Ryo-chan again!" he said, the last part excitedly, making the two senpai's stare at him oddly. Niou and Marui grinned, saddling up beside Kirihara and giving him a 'nudge nudge, wink wink' sort of look.

"And who could this Ryo-chan be hmm?" Marui asked, an eyebrow raised as Niou flipped his hair, batting his eyelashes in a girly manner.

"A cute freshman girl perhaps? Or maybe a sexy senior?" Niou asked, doing a very good impersonation of the aforementioned girl types, making Marui laugh hysterically and Akaya blushing madly.

"NO! Kami-sama! Ryo-chan is a boy! Echizen Ryoma! He was my friend when we were little and I haven't seen him in years!" Akaya explained. Niou and Marui both 'd'aw-ed' in disappointment.

"Ceh! And here I thought he finally found a girlfriend." Niou began wistfully. Akaya just spluttered, blushing slightly. This did not escape the eyes of Marui who grinned almost evilly.

"Or maybe, little Akaya is playing for the home team." He said, making both Niou and Akaya freeze. Akaya in shocked embarrassment and Niou in thought. The silver haired male was the first to recover, bursting into song.

"Akaya has a boy friend~" he sang, cackling as he went to inform Yukimura of the good news. Akaya, breaking out from his dazed trance, hurriedly chased after Niou, swearing to kill the copycat. Marui happily ate his gum, whistling as he went in search of Jackal.

* * *

"Welcome to Seigaku Ryoga-nii." Ryoma said as the two Echizen brothers made their way through the entrance gate. Ryoma showed Ryoga to Ryuuzaki sensei's office before heading towards the courts for warm ups. As he entered, he was glomped by a flurry of blue and red. Kikumaru-senpai.

"Ochibi!! You're here early!" the red head said, snuggling into the shorter male's hair. Ryoma was struggling to escape the death grip, trying to pry Kikumaru-senpai's fingers off of his neck.

"Sen-pai! Can't- Bre-a-the!" he choked out, nearly deoxygenated. Oishi, who was nearby, quickly helped side-track his double partner into letting the freshman go.

"Gomen Ochibi!" he apologized as Ryoma regained his breath, shaking his head. Momoshiro appeared a moment later, being one of the few who had arrived the latest while still being on time.

"Yo Echizen! You're here early. What's the occasion?" Momo asked with a grin, putting his best friend in a head lock.

"Ittai yo Momo-senpai! Get off!" the shorter teen struggled before Momo relented, freeing him.

"Regulars! Assemble!" Coach Ryuuzaki's voice was heard from over court two. The nine regulars quickly formed a line, Ryoma wondering where Ryoga went. Ryuuzaki-sensei nodded at all of them a grin on his wrinkled face.

"Alright. Since we all here, I'd like to inform you that we will have a new training coach." She said. Murmurs broke out in the group of regulars. Momo being the loudest, exclaiming;

"Huh? Who? Why isn't Inui-senpai doing it?" Ryuuzaki smirked, answering with;

"Because he needs to train as well. Besides, our new training coach is an experienced tennis player and also happens to be one of the regular's older brother." She said, shooting Ryoma a covert grin.

"EH?!" exclaimed all the regulars, even Tezuka was a tad perplexed. Who could it be? They were all wondering. Suddenly, a man walked into the courts, carrying two, big, boxes that looked pretty heavy. The boxes covered his face but when he set them down and looked over to the team, the entire team, save for Ryoma and Tezuka exclaimed in shock. Dark, emerald green hair, sharp looking, cat-like eyes that was the colour of molten gold, tanned skin and an obvious tennis player's body.

"Echizen Ryoga. I'll be your new training coach. Yoroshiku." He said with a grin. All hell broke loose starting from there.

TBC…………

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A/N: Read and Review. Flames will be used to heat my baths~


	6. Chapter 6

Authors note: I'm back? For a bit anyway. My SPM Exams are really close now. So here's the latest chapter of The Prodigy and The Demon. P.S. Don't forget to check out my South Park fic, Wasted.

Chapter 6

"EHHH?" The Regular's exclaimed; eyes widening to the size of saucers at the revelation of their new training coach. Ryoga starred at the team, an amused glint in his honey coloured eyes as his eyes locked onto his younger brother's. Ryoma merely shook his head, hiding the small grin that threatened to break the surface of his usual cold, cocky façade.

"Ochibi, you have an older brother!" Kikumaru exclaimed, still gaping. Momo was too. The second year was Ryoma's best friend and even he didn't know about this so called 'Echizen Ryoga'. He shook his head, still in a state of disbelief as he eyed the taller male. He was definitely Ryoma's brother, seeing how the resemblance was uncanny.

"Iie data… Echizen Ryoma; previously labelled as an only child. It is now revealed that he has an older brother. Probability of this situation occurring… 36%..." Inui muttered, jotting down this new piece of information onto his trusty notebook.

Fuji's eyes were opened as he surveyed their new training coach. Ryoma's brother bore a striking resemblance to him, and Fuji was slightly envious that the little prince seemed to enjoy his older brother's presence while Yuuta, his own brother, seemed to dislike even having contact with the older Fuji.

Tezuka, Oishi, Kawamura and Kaidoh chose to remain silent throughout the entire ordeal. Tezuka keeping a silent watch on his team; Oishi and Kawamura being too polite to question the male and Kaidoh because he didn't really care. As long as they got to play tennis and get stronger, he'll be satisfied.

"Yup! Well the reason Chibisuke hasn't told anyone about me is because I've been in a position where contact was pretty limited. I haven't seen Chibisuke since he was little and I've only just recently returned to Japan." Ryoga said smoothly, his voice not betraying his emotions.

Everyone else seems to accept the excuse as Oishi asked what exactly they'd be doing. A sadistic grin formed on Ryoga's face, eyes catching a gleam that could even rival Fuji Syuusuke's when he was mad. The team felt a cold chill running through their bodies when they caught sight of the grin. Even Ryoma who thought;

'Damn… Nii-chan is really scary…'

Ryoga revelled in the looks of horror on his new team's faces as he reached into the box, pulling out wrist and ankle weights, a few coloured tennis balls that were smaller than the standard balls, a metal paddle in the size of a tennis racket and some blindfolds.

"Well, that's for me to know and for you guys to find out." The older Echizen said with a grin, tossing the ankle and wrist weights to the regulars, seeing them catching the weights with a distinct 'oomp!'

"Put those on and we'll start training." And with that, Seigaku Regulars Team were faced with day one of Training Hell, courtesy of one Ryoga Echizen.

* * *

Throughout the day, Akaya couldn't help but let his mind wonder back to the Echizen family. Ryoga nii was back after suffering through some major conspiracy, Ryoma was back in his life; still the same adorable kid he left back in America and Akira was starting to unearth her 'secret crush' on Ryoga that had long been buried since the family had moved away.

'Maa… Life is full of surprises… I'm glad to have been reunited with Ryo-chan and I'm happy that Ryoga is back. But… being here, I rarely get to see them. I have to find some day where there's no extra practise to go visit them again…' so lost in thought, Akaya didn't notice the odd looks he was getting from his senpai's, namely Yukimura, Marui and Niou.

"Puri… I wonder what's wrong with the brat? He's been so quiet and it's starting to creep me out." Niou said; a perplexed look on the silver haired male's face. Marui could only shrug helplessly as he blew a bubble.

"Maa ne. He's been like that since morning practise as well. Even Sanada-san is getting worried." The specialist replied as Yukimura heaved a tired sigh, his gently face shrouded in worry as he gazed at Rikkaidai's youngest regular. Akaya had a far off look in his eyes, like he was thinking of something, or maybe someone? The captain's eyes widened a margin.

"Ne Niou, Marui… Since when has Akaya started to act like this?" Yukimura asked, keeping his eyes on the black haired demon as he almost walked into a stone pillar. Niou and Marui thought for a bit before Niou answered.

"Gaki's been acting like that ever since he came back from Seigaku that day he fell asleep on the bus." Niou answered. Marui was starting to catch on to what his captain was thinking and asked;

"So you think that someone or something at Seigaku triggered this?" Yukimura only nodded and the trio winced when they heard a crash in the distance, looking around for the source, they saw Akaya picking up an empty trash can. Niou couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips and Marui only sighed, shaking his head.

"Whatever is bothering him, we should just ask him about it. He won't be able to play tennis if this situation continues." Yukimura spoke with a grimace. The other two third years looked at each other and sighed, nodding their heads in agreement.

"We'll corner him in the club room later during afternoon practice." Niou said as Marui popped his gum and nodded.

"Yeah. We'll get him to say what's on his mind even if it kills us." Marui's said with a joking tone but his expression was serious. Yukimura nodded and together, they left for class.

* * *

The Seigaku Regulars all groaned in unison from each of their respective classes. Morning practise was brutal. Ryoga Echizen was truly a man to be feared; heck even Fuji was taking notes from the green haired devil. After putting on their weights, Ryoga made each of them pair up before handing them the small ball. Despite being small though, the ball was about the same weight as a regular tennis ball and instead of using their own rackets, the team were forced to use the metal rackets Ryoga had brought along.

"It's to increase your strength and accuracy." He had said. When practise had ended, all the regulars were sweating buckets and were sore as anything. Even Tezuka looked exhausted, which didn't really surprise anyone. Buchou was still human under that cold, stoic exterior. Ryoga had clapped and said that it was a good practise and that he had something special planned out for afternoon practise as well. At the thought, all of the regulars winced. Thankfully for Ryoma, he was the only one in his class who was a regular while the other members' received strange looks by their almost synchronised movements.

"Na Tezuka, morning practise was a lot of hard work ne?" Oishi asked with his smile in place as the teacher left to get some things he forgot in the teacher's lounge. Tezuka starred at the smiling vice-captain before nodding his head.

"Ah. It was, but I'm sure it will pay off on the end." Tezuka responded, his eyes holding a fire that Oishi knew all too well. A small chuckled escaped the teen's lips. Oishi was slightly worried on how the younger boys would cope; but with Momo and Kaidoh's determination the two would be fine and as for Ryoma-kun….

"Ryoma-kun seems a bit different now doesn't he?" Oishi asked out loud. Tezuka nodded. Even he wasn't blind to the change that overcame Seigaku's pillar of support. The younger Echizen had a burning drive to accomplish the task his brother set out for him and was even a bit more open towards the team.

"Ah… I've noticed as well. I believe that it is his brother's influence." Tezuka said and Oishi nodded in agreement.

"He seems happier now." Tezuka could only agree.

* * *

Fuji, Kikumaru and Kawamura were partnered up for a project during English class. The tree will have to do an oral presentation about a topic of their choosing. Naturally, the three boys chose Tennis.

When their turn came, the three made their way to the front of the class, Fuji doing the introduction in perfect English.

"_Good morning to our teacher, Miss Aburumi and to our fellow classmates. Eiji, Kawamura and I will be presenting our topic which is Tennis. As you all know, Fuji, Kawamura and I are part of the school's tennis team regulars. We've played countless matches against many strong schools and have made many friends along the way who share the same passion in the sport. Tennis to us; isn't just a game. It's a way of life." _Fuji spoke in barely accented English, making some girls swoon.

Eiji gulped nervously before he opened his mouth to speak next.

"_Tenissu is a veery fuhn gamu. You can play in singlesu or dooublessu. Fuji and Kawamura can play dooublessu and Fuji can play singlesu too! Me and Oishi play dooublessu and it iz veery fuhn! I specialize in acrobaticku tennissu which means zat I do many jumps and frips in ze air. I also play dooublessu with Momoshiro sometimez when Oishi plays singlessu." _Kikumaru said with a bright grin, his English still heavily accented with Japanese but still understandable.

It was Kawamura's turn to speak and the poor power house was pale and stuttering something intangible. Thinking quick, Eiji rushed to Kawamura's seat and grabbed his tennis racket before handing it over to the nervous teen. As if a switch had been flipped, the boy's personality did a total 360; gone was the shy, stuttering boy and out came a confident, over energized male.

"_BUURNING GREATO BABY! TENNIS IS WONDERFUL! IT YOUTHFUL AND GETS THE BLOOD PUMPING BABY! WE HAVE A NEW TRAINING COACH DORYAAA! HIS TRAINING EXERCISE WILL MAKE US STRONGER! I'M READY FOR IT EVEN IF ITS PAIFUL! THE PAIN SHOWS THAT WERE ALIVE! BUUURRNNIIINGG!" _Take screamed, waving the racket around, his eyes flaming and it seemed that a flaming background appeared out of nowhere to emphasize the boy's point. Taking the racket away from Kawamura, the teen reverted back to his meek self, making the teacher and other students' gape.

"Ah… Very well done… You may take your seats now." The teacher said, still looking a bit bewildered.

* * *

Ryoga was resting at home. A grin still etched on his face as he recalled Seigaku's morning practise with him. It was so funny to see them all struggling with his training menu but even then, he saw a lot of potential in Chibisuke's teammates. They were all strong in a sense and had very strong will power. By the end of the month he was sure that their stamina and strength would double and their speed would increase by at least three folds.

"Ah… Chibisuke looked so cute trying to surpass everyone." Ryoga said out loud as he sprawled on his back. Ryoma had not known what his brother was planning and when he got wind of the exercise, he tried to make sure that he would be the first to master it. Chuckling lightly, Ryoga starred up at the clouds as they floated lazily in the blue sky.

'To think… I could have missed all of this…' he thought, not noticing Nanjiroh hiding behind the door, a small smile on his own face.

"It's good to have the older brat home…" he muttered before looking for somewhere else to read his 'newspaper'.

* * *

TBC…

AN: Slightly longer than the last chapter I believe. I hope this will curb your appetites. Don't forget to check out my new South Park fic called Wasted. I hope to get your imput on that fic as well~

Bye for now, DG13.


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors note: I'm back? My SPM exams have been over for a while now but I've suffered for some major writer's block, plus with the fact that people choose to ignore my disclaimers for some of my older fics, causing me to delete quite a few of them. So here's the latest chapter of The Prodigy and The Demon.**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"Oi Echizen! Echizeeeennn!" the familiar annoying screech of Horio woke Ryoma up from his usual after lunch nap on the school's roof. The golden eyed teen groaned, opening his eyes to glare lightly at the uni-browed male. Katchiro and Katsuo were beside the brown haired teen, looking slightly apologetic. Katsuo approached him, holding out a hand towards the sleepy prince.

"Ryoma-kun, it's time for afternoon practice." Katsuo called out gently. Ryoma acknowledged him with a nod, grabbing the proffered hand and using it to pull himself up to a sitting position before standing up fully and stretching leisurely. His hair was slightly mussed from the nap and his skin was flushed a slight rosy pink colour from the heat of the sun.

"Uisu." He mumbled sleepily, rubbing the traces of sleep from his eyes as he exited the roof, the freshmen trio following closely behind him. Horio was muttering about how ungrateful Echizen was being despite his efforts to prevent him from being late to practise and suffering the pain of laps. Katsuo and Katchiro merely sighed at their friends antics. This sort of thing had happened daily for a while now and they've learned to tuned Horio out almost as well as Ryoma has.

* * *

"Ne Oishi, what do you think Ryoga-san has planned for us for afternoon practice?" Eiji asked; a thoughtful and curious look on his face. He even pretended to stroke a make believe beard as he pondered the training for that day. Fuji who was sat beside the red head merely gave off a soft chuckle.

"Saa, we'll just have to wait and see. Ne Tezuka?" the genius said, the perpetual smile never leaving his face. The stoic Seigaku buchou could only nod in agreement. Even he wasn't informed of the day's training and felt curiosity nag at his insides. Inui who was standing by the window held up a fresh notebook labelled 'Echizen Ryoga', humming things from time to time.

"Whatever he's planned though, I'm sure it will benefit us greatly." Oishi said with a smile, although it was a bit strained as he remembered morning practise. He couldn't help but worry if they were actually going to survive the afternoon practise. Heck he'd be happy if they were to suffer only a little casualty with the way Ryoga had drilled them all that morning.

"It can't be that bad." Taka-san said, ever the optimist. The others just stared at him, making him fidget and blush slightly before Oishi smiled; a little more relaxed this time as he took comfort in Taka-san's words. Even Eiji seem too brightened at the thought.

"Yeah you're right. I mean we've survived worst. What else can he throw at us nya?" Eiji said, not aware of what horrors the team we're going to face under the sadistic hands of Ryoga Echizen.

* * *

"Ryo nii-chan?" Ryoma said unsurely as he starred at his brother. The rest of the team were in too much shock at the sight before them to notice Ryoma's affectionate name for his older brother. I mean who wouldn't be when they saw that there were dumbbells, barbells and what looked like the track and field equipment spread across the tennis courts. Courts C and D had been transformed into a mini obstacle course so Ryuuzaki-sensei had ordered for the non-Regulars to use Courts A and B.

"Yes Chibisuke?" Ryoga asked with an amused grin stretched on his handsome face. The Regular's faces were priceless. Even Tezuka looked slightly taken aback by all the things. It made Ryoga cry internally that he didn't bring his digital camera with him. Oh the blackmail material he could have gotten….

"What are all of these for?" Momo asked, picking up a dumbbell with one hand. The others looked towards Ryoga, clearly wanting him to answer the second year's question. Ryoga gave a low, albeit creepy chuckle as a fiery background appeared behind him. It looked something akin to Taka-san's burning mode only a bit more sinister.

"This is all for your training. The warm up this morning was to assess your skills. This is where the real training begins." Ryoga answered simply. The answer caused disbelieving looks to spread throughout the team. Eiji was whimpering internally, berating himself for jinxing the team with his earlier comment.

"What will we be doing exactly?" Inui ventured, his glasses glinting in the light. He had his notebook out and was prepared to analyse everything Ryoga said, much to the amusement of the older Echizen. Ryoga, keeping the suspense hummed a bit before answering in the most innocent tone he could manage, bar laughing;

"Well I'm focusing on weight training for this session so I'll divide you into four groups. First group will do Dumbbell Squats or Lying Leg Presses to strengthen the legs as well as Dumbbell Bench Presses to strengthen the chest and triceps." He started, patting both Fuji and Tezuka on the shoulders to signal that they were group one.

"Second group will be doing Dumbbell Lunges to strengthen the legs and glutes as well as Single Arm Dumbbell Rows for the upper back and biceps." He continued, patting Inui and Kaidoh and signalled for them to enter court C.

" Third group will be doing Crunches with Twist for the abdominals muscles and Dumbbell Shoulder Presses for the shoulders and triceps and Standing Barbell Curls for the biceps." He said, indicating to Ryoma, Oishi and Eiji.

"And finally, the fourth group will be doing Standing Machine Calf Raises to strengthen the calves and Barbell Upright Rows for the shoulders and trapezius." Ryoga finished with a flourish, pointing to Momo and Kawamura. The Regulars starred in shock at Ryoga. He had managed to analyse all their weak points and had designed specific exercise to meet their needs. Even Inui was struck speechless as he calculated a 50% improvement rate to their playing if they followed Ryoga's instructions.

"As to be expected from an Echizen." Ryuuzaki-sensei said, breaking the silent spell that had seemed to be casted on the Regulars. Tezuka coughed slightly before turning to the Regulars. His expression was its usual stoic mask but there was something about Tezuka that seem to exude an excitement at the challenge.

"Regulars, disperse and begin your training." Tezuka commanded. There was a chorus of 'Hai buchou!' before everyone scrambled to get their training done. Fuji chuckled lightly as he walked away to get the items he and Tezuka would need for their training session. All the while his eyes never left Echizen Ryoga.

'Seems like it's getting even more interesting than I've ever hope to imagine.' Came the tensai's thoughts.

* * *

"Mura-buchou, Akaya-kun has been replaced by an alien." Came Marui's somewhat serious sounding accusation. The teal haired captain of Rikkaidai blinked owlishly at Marui, a small frown on his feminine face.

"Why makes you say that Marui?" he asked in a curious tone. The redhead sugar addict proceeded to point his lollipop at Akaya who was looking a bit… Yukimura's eyes widened significantly. He blinked twice but the image didn't disappear. Akaya looked like he was torn between being incredibly happy and terribly distraught at the same time. It was an odd sight to say the least. One moment he looked like he was struck by cupid's arrow and the next it looked like someone killed his puppy.

"He looks like someone drugged him and beat him over the head with a stupid stick." Niou said rather suddenly, examining Akaya from the distance. With the way the black haired teen looked right at the moment, he truly did deserve to be labelled 'Bakaya'.

"Niou, don't be mean." Yukimura chastised lightly, a worried look coming onto his face. It was then that they noticed that Akaya had been periodically checking his phone. Being the trickster that he was, Niou made his way towards the unsuspecting second year and plucked the phone out of his grasp, scrolling to the messages as Akaya protested loudly at the action.

"Oi! Niou-senpai! Gimme back my phone!" Akaya shouted in outrage, reaching out to grab the electronic device back from his silver haired senior. Glaring at Niou for good measure, he slipped the phone back into his pocket and continued on his moody rampage. Slipping back to the other regulars Niou grinned. Yukimura and Marui raised their eyebrows questioningly.

"It's love problems. Apparently the chibi-chan Bakaya's crushing on from Seigaku can't see him this week because of extra training their new coach is giving them." Niou said. Yukimura let out a surprised sound as Marui chuckled slightly.

"Ah, young love." He said dreamily, popping a bubble-gum into his mouth and chewing lightly. Yukimura and Niou had smiles on their faces as they recalled their very first times falling in love. Unbeknownst to the others, namely Sanada, Jackal, Yanagi and Yagyuu, Yukimura came up with a plan to help their team's baby with his slump.

"It seems like I'll have to arrange a practise match with Seigaku soon." Yukimura said with a radiant smile on his face, earning grins from Niou and Marui.

* * *

**TBC…..**


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I'm glad that my readers haven't abandoned this story. –bows- I thank you all very much. Here's the next installment. It's a little shorter than the last one but I've been a bit busy lately. Learning to drive and all that =w=;

Chapter 8

"Hello, Ryuuzaki Sumire speaking." Ryuuzaki-sensei said into her cellphone as she answered a call. Her eyes widened a bit when the person on the other line introduced himself as Yukimura Seiichi, Captain of Rikkai Dai's tennis team. A few moments of silence on her part later, a grin came about her aged face, eyes glinting with an unholy light.

"Ah, it will be an interesting event. I agree. You may have a training match against us next Tuesday." Ryuuzaki-sensei responded, receiving a chuckle and a verbal agreement from the teal haired captain before hanging up.

"So Rikkai want's a match with the team. Somehow I think that their sudden interest has something to do with Ryoma." The aged coach said softly with an amused smile on her face. Looking out of her office window she could see the team training hard, Ryoga observing them and barking orders every once in a while. Standing up, she stretched a bit, her auburn hair swishing slightly as she made her way to the door to inform the team.

"I'm sure Ryoga is going to enjoy this." She said, a creepy chuckle following the statement, scarring some of the senior students who were loitering around the hall, waiting for their friends and/or girl/boyfriends. Somehow they had the feeling that Ryuuzaki-sensei was planning something. Good or bad, they couldn't help but pity the tennis club.

* * *

Back at Rikkai Dai, Yukimura was chuckling to himself before turning to face Niou and Marui. The duo looked at each other and smiled, knowing the verdict before Yukimura could even tell them. The pleased smile on their teal haired captain's face was enough.

"So when are we having the match with Seigaku?" Niou asked casually in a loud voice, attracting Akaya's attention. The seaweed haired teen turned to look at his senior so fast that some other boys who were looking winced, worried that he received whiplash.

"Buchou did what now?" he asked, wide eyed and gaping. Niou put on his trademark grin, Marui shaking his head and Yukimura smiling his angelic smiled. He's never seen a cuter image of his team's 'baby'.

"I thought I'd schedule a little practise match between our team and Seigaku. They seem to be getting stronger and I'd like to see just how strong…" Yukimura said with an innocent tone that usually put Sanada on edge. The second year ace didn't see anything wrong with the idea, seeing as Ryoma was pretty strong and Ryoga was most likely helping his younger brother train. Akaya almost shivered with anticipation at the thought.

"Cool! Can I get to play Echizen?" Akaya all but squealed, looking at his captain with puppy dog eyes. Marui and Niou almost fell back in shocked amusement at the look. Who knew that 'Devil Akaya' could look so angelic and adorable? It was surreal. Yukimura mere chuckled and nodded his head, making Akaya whoop in joy. The seaweed haired teen then proceeded to launch himself into full training mode, calling out challenges to anyone who dared.

"Whoah, never seen him this pumped up." Niou whistled slightly. It was almost like Akaya was in 'the zone'. Marui nodded his head in agreement; his chewing gum almost falling to the ground in his shock. Yukimura merely laughed.

"I think we have Echizen-san to thank for this Akaya." Yukimura merely stated. 'I wonder what it is about Echizen Ryoma that has Akaya so enthusiastic. Oh well, we'll find out on Tuesday.' He thought before commanding the tennis team to play a game of round robin, six people to a court.

* * *

"Achoo!" sneezed both the Echizen siblings, much to the team's amusement. Oishi smiled a bit before going into his usual mother hen mode when Ryoma sneezed once again. Looking at the smaller male, he asked Ryoma if he was feeling okay; seeing the younger teen rub at his nose slightly, sniffing.

"Are you feeling okay Ryoma? Not getting a cold are you?" Oishi asked worriedly. The weather was getting a bit cold. Maybe the younger teen was getting sick? Maybe the training was too much for him. At seeing the almost frantic look in Oishi's eyes, Ryoma rolled his eyes.

"I'm fine Oishi-senpai." He stated, putting his weights down in time just as Eiji glomped him, ruffling his mussed emerald tinted hair.

"Nya, maybe somebody is talking about you Ochibi." Eiji stated, rubbing his face against the smaller boys. Ryoma made a sound of protest, pushing Eiji away.

"Eiji-senpai, let go." Ryoma stated, turning a dark shade of red due to lack of air. He was sweaty, they both were from the rigorous exercise they were doing and the older boy was making it harder for Ryoma to breath.

"Ah, sorry Ochibi." Eiji said, releasing the younger boy with a small grin, sticking his tongue out at the younger boy as Ryoma huffed. Ryoma mumbled something before a shadow fell on him. Looking behind him, he saw his older brother with an amused grin on his face. Frowning a bit, he was about to ask Ryoga why he was smiling before the older Echizen called the regulars to assemble.

"What's going on Ochibi?" Eiji asked, looking at the younger boy who was frowning at his older brother. Ryoma shook his head, not knowing what was going on either. They just had to wait to find out what was going on. Once everyone had assembled in court C, Ryoga turned to face them. Ryuuzaki-sensei was beside him and they both had wide grins on their faces. Now it wasn't just Ryoma who felt uneasy.

"Na sensei, what's going on?" Momo ventured to ask. The team hed their breath as rYuuzaki-sensei gave a quite chuckled.

"You'd have to ask Ryoga that." She answered vaguely. Now all eyes turned to the older Echizen who looked caught between feeling ecstatic and slightly apprehensive. An odd look but the older was leaning more too ecstatic now that he'd gathered and taken a good look at everyone. A satisfied glean was in his eyes before he made the announcement.

"Ryuuzaki-sensei has just gotten off the phone with Yukimura-san; Captain of Rikkai Dai's tennis team as I have been told…" Ryoga stated, amused to see the shocked looks on the team's face. Regretting that he didn't have his camera with him, he continued with his announcement, knowing Ryoma was going to be pretty happy about this in the end.

"Rikkai has requested a practise match with Seigaku and sensei happily agreed. We will be having the match next Tuesday, so train hard boys because I'm going to work you to the ground." Ryoga stated. He enjoyed the gaping looks he received. Even Tezuka looked a bit shocked.

"Haaah?" Momo exclaimed, breaking the silence. Muttering broke out amongst the regulars but all of them we're pretty excited about the news. Tezuka sighed, wishing for an aspirin. Fuji chuckled lightly at the chaos that Ryoga's statement cause. Kaidoh and Momo were pumped up. Even Taka looked excited if a bit nervous. Inui was muttering something about getting to see 'Professor' again, an eerie smile on his face. Ryoma however was smiling his cocky smile.

"Heh... It's going to be interesting.." Ryoma stated, his eyes lighting up with excitement. Seeing the look on his brother's face, Ryoga grinned as well, making the duo look even more similar to each other

"You got it chibisuke. I'm gonna pit you against Akaya to measure how much you both have grown in these past few years so be ready." Ryoga stated, much to Ryoma's hidden glee. He then turned his attention to the others and let out another smile. He missed this; the feeling of friendly rivalry in a clean tennis match. No cheating, betting or sabotage involved. Shaking his head, he called the team to attention.

"Now everyone, I know you guys are pretty pumped up so get back to practise! When you're done, have a tennis match against yourselves. Inui and Kaidoh versus Fuji and Taka. Oishi and Eiji against Momo and Ryoma. Tezuka versus myself." He said with a grin.

"Get to it!"

* * *

TBC…..


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I apologize for the long wait. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have not abandoned this story. You're motivation means a lot to me.

* * *

Chapter 9

A week has passed and Seigaku had to endure Ryoga's training menu from hell. Every day they would do 500 swings for both left and right arms, 500 squats and even increased their ankle weights. Besides that, Ryoga had even taken them up to the forest where they played tennis on an uneven surface. If they failed, they had to drink Inui's Special Deluxe Aozu and not even Ryoma was spared from the harsh training, despite being Ryoga's brother. In fact, it seemed Ryoga was especially hard on him.

Despite the harshness of the training, it did yield amazing results. In that short week the team had found that not only have their strength increased, but also their stamina and balance. Their shots were more accurate, stronger and were more refined than they originally were. Moving quickly on the courts was as effortless as walking slowly down the street and Kikumaru's Acrobatics had developed into something worthy of the greatest circus acts. There was no question that the red head 'cat' of Seigaku's Tennis team would definitely best Hyotei's Gakuto.

"Alright guys! Break!" Ryoga called out as the team slowed to a halt from running their laps. Ryoga had, had them run 30 laps around the courts with their ankle weights on as a 'cool down' session. The older male had to admit, these middle schoolers really had a lot in them. Most people would be passed out by now but the team was only slightly winded. Once everyone seemed to catch their breaths, Ryoga nodded approvingly and asked them to gather around.

"Alright. As you all know, tomorrow we will have a practise match against Rikkai Dai. I want all of you to get a good rest tomorrow to prepare. Rikkai has been the national champions for three years in a row if I'm not mistaken and they will be the perfect team to test out how far you've come with your training." Ryoga said as the team nodded.

"Yosha! We'll be able to take them on, no problem nya!" Eiji said in excitement, bouncing in place. Ryoga's training effort had managed to help him combat his stamina problem and he couldn't wait to go against Rikkai to see how far he had improved. Oishi merely smiled, nodding his head in agreement.

"Rikkai huh… We won't lose to them, we jus can't. Right Echizen?" Momo said, smirking slightly as Ryoma shrugged, a tiny smirk of his own tugging at his lips.

"Uisu."

"Ah… But we must not get careless. Rikkai is a worthy opponent." Tezuka said, making sure to make his meaning clear with the look he had on his face. Don't underestimate Rikkai and do not let your guard down. The look was understood by the majority of the team and had Ryoga grinning slightly. He was teaching a bunch of good kids he decided.

"Alright. Everyone dismissed. Chibisuke, I'm heading back first since I need to do something. Can you go back on your own?" Ryoga asked his younger brother. The golden eyed teen nodded his head in agreement. He'd catch a ride with Momo-senpai later. Smiling, Ryoga nodded and walked away, whistling something under his breath as the team headed for the club room to shower and change.

"Ne, I wonder where Ryoga-san is going nya." Eiji said as he stripped out of his shirt.

"I don't know… But he seemed rather cheerful didn't he?" Fuji responded with an enigmatic smile, getting ready to head into the showers.

"Don't you know anything about it Echizen?" Fuji asked the youngest of the team who was stripping out of his shirt. Blanked faced, Ryoma just shrugged his shoulders, signalling that he didn't know either.

"Ah! Maybe he's going out on a date!" came Momo's voice from across the room. He was already part way undress, a towel wrapped around his waist, showcasing the well muscled abs. The training they went through seemed to have given them even more definition but not enough so that he'd look like a body builder.

"Ah! That could be it!" Eiji answered, eyes sparkling mischievously. "I wonder what kind of girls Ryoga-san likes." The red head mussed. During the exchange, Ryoma, Tezuka, Kaidoh, Inui and Taka wisely chose not to comment and instead headed towards the shower room to bath. Ryoma ignored them because the thought of his brother dating anyone was disturbing, Tezuka and Kaidoh because it wasn't any of their business. Inui didn't join in for once because he'd prefer contemplating that question alone and Taka because he thought that the idea was a little far-fetched. Ryoga-san had only been back for two weeks after all.

* * *

Somewhere across town, Akira was getting ready for her date with Ryoga. Well, technically it wasn't a date. It was two friends who used to hang out together meeting up over some cake and tea. Never mind the fact that Akira's diminishing crush on the older male had come back full force. Shaking her head, she glanced at the mirror to make sure everything was perfect. Her make-up was flawless, as was her hair. Her outfit consisting jeans, a cute red tank top and a sporty leather jacket over it complimented her looks, giving her that fun, devil may care appeal. Satisfied, the girl grabbed her hand bag and went out, her heart beating furiously at the thought of spending some time with the male she had admired for so long.

* * *

"Ne Buchou… What was the special announcement you wanted to give us today?" Akaya asked, his cheeks tinted red from exertion. He had just finished a match with Niou-senpai when Yukimura buchou called them over to make a special announcement. Once the team had gathered, Yukimura gave an approving nod before he said;

"Tomorrow we're going to have a practise match against Seigaku. After classes, meet at the tennis courts and we'll take a bus to Seishun Gakuen. Try not to be late."

Akaya's eyes widened at that as his jaw drop. The teal haired captain's smile couldn't get any bigger as he watched the youngest member of his team flounder for words. Marui, ever chewing on his bubble gum chose to break the silence with a popping bubble while Niou snickered.

"Oh, we'll get to see Bakaya's boyfriend tomorrow~" the silver haired trickster said, causing Akaya to flush a dark pink as a low growl escaped his lips.

"He's not my boyfriend!" the messy haired teen responded hotly, his cheeks betraying his true emotions. The sight just made Niou want to tease the younger male more. And so he did.

"Not yet." The trickster retorted, an amused look on his face. "When are you going to grow a pair and ask him out Bakaya? That boy isn't going to stay single for long." He continued in a sing song voice, causing Akaya to scoff, crossing his arms over his chest childishly.

'Stupid Niou-senpai… Don't know what he's talking about.' The raven haired teen thought crossly though in his mind, a small voice couldn't help but agree with the silver haired patenshi.

Ryoma was admittedly gorgeous despite his young age and as he grows, the golden eyed tennis prodigy would only become more and more handsome and desirable. The thought of another person, be it man or woman having Ryoma to themselves admittedly caused a flair of jealousy to spark inside of him. When he realized that, he let out a soft groan, rubbing his temple slightly. Curse his idiotic senpai who kept putting these thoughts in his head.

"Anyway, I expect you all to be here on time. The matches will be scheduled when we reached Seigaku." Yukimura pressed on before dismissing everyone. As the members left, he couldn't help the enigmatic smile that spread across his lips. Tomorrow would be very interesting indeed.

* * *

"Yo Akira-chan." Ryoga called out, spotting the familiar face of the girl that had called him up a few days ago. Kirihara Akira was someone he had fond memories of. When they were younger they used to get up to a lot of mischief. Akira had a thirst for adventure that Ryoga couldn't help but admire. His fondest memory was of them exploring an abandoned train graveyard just outside of the park property. Akira had found a hole in between the fences that they could fit through and they spent the whole day playing amongst the old train container. Now that he had thought about it now, it was pretty dumb of them to do that but they were kids so it was forgivable. At least nothing bad happened and they didn't come across any deranged hobo or anything.

"Ah, Ryoga-kun. Hello." Akira greeted with a grin, showcasing pearly white teeth. Ryoga couldn't help but smile back. There was just something about Akira that made her rather special. Different from all the other girls he had before.

"Been waiting long?" he asked as he took a seat in front of her. The raven haired girl shook her head.

"Nah. I just got here myself. So, ready to order?" she asked, handing him a menu. Ryoga took it with a grateful nod and scanned the content of the menu. Most of it was western food and desserts. He decided on a normal hamburger and a coke. For dessert, it had to be orange parfait. He told Akira and she agreed to share to rather large dessert with him, a pretty blush spreading across the bridge of his nose.

After the orders were placed, the duo sat at the booth, a comfortable silence surrounding them. It was Akira who decided to break the silence.

"So I heard from Kaa-chan that you've begun teaching Ryoma-chan's tennis team. How's that going for you?" she asked, genuinely curios to the development. From her memory, she knew Ryoga was apt at tennis. He probably had improved a lot since then as well. Ryoga smirked and she knew that it was going pretty well. It seemed her talent for reading the older male had not diminished in the slightest.

"It's going well. Chibisuke's team is a pretty hard working. They listen to my instructions and take whatever I say to heart. It's kind of strange but not in a bad way I supposed…" he mused, a strangely content expression on his face before it disappeared to make room for his normal smirk.

"I just didn't imagine myself teaching is all." Ryoga replied to her question, causing Akira to nod, a smile tugging at her own lips.

"Ah… So how does it feel to be back?" she asked as the waitress came over to served them their drinks. Coke for Ryoga and a mix berries milkshake for Akira.

"To be honest… It's kind of strange." Ryoga admitted, taking a sip of his soda. Akira shot him a look and he relented; elaborating his answer for her.

"I've spent almost eight years away from my parent's Akira. No contact, no nothing. Sure I missed them like hell when I was away but there were times I could scarcely remember what everyone looked like." Ryoga said solemnly. Akira felt her heart give a painful tug at that. To not remember what your parents looked like must have been a horrible experience.

"Well, I guess its fine now since you're back here with us." Akira said, trying to lighten the mood. It worked and soon the serious conversation was forgotten, only to be replaced with silly observations and light conversations centred on how Akira's life had turned out. He found out about the move from America to Japan, how she was studying design in college and how she once caught Akaya day dreaming and walking into a light pole one evening a few days ago. At that moment, the oldest of the Kirihara siblings couldn't help but think that nothing could get better than this.

* * *

The day of the match had come and the Seigaku tennis team was more than ready to showcase their newly enhanced skill. Eiji could be seen bouncing around the court in glee while Oishi tried to calm him down. Momo and Taka were having a friendly rally while Kaidoh ran laps around the courts under Inui's supervision. Tezuka and Fuji were having a small conversation about something or other in the corner. It probably had to do something with the upcoming match, judging by the look on Tezuka's face. The only member of the regulars who wasn't there was Ryoma. He had told them that morning that he would have library duties and so he'd be a little late to practise.

"Yo guys. I'm sorry to keep you waiting but I've brought some people with me." Ryoga said as he entered the court area with the members of Rikkai tennis team trailing behind him. Yukimura had his usual enigmatic smile on his face while Sanada looked as serious as ever. Renji didn't seem to have any emotions on his face but to Inui's trained eyes, he knew that the other male was just as excited. Niou and Yagyuu looked thoroughly amused while Marui and Jackal seemed a little too calm. The only one showing even a hint of nervousness was Kirihara Akaya who was looking around like he was waiting for something or someone to appear.

"Oi, Ryoga, where's Ryoma?" came Akaya's question, prompting the older Echizen sibling to roll his eyes and shake his head at the younger male's tunnel vision. He wondered if someone had told him that Ryoma would be his opponent in this match. He had wanted to keep it a surprise but looks like that wasn't happening any time soon.

"He's got library rep duties so he'll be here later Aka-chan." Ryoga said, using Akira's nickname for her little brother on Akaya, causing the dark haired male to pout, crossing his arms muttering something about unfair advantages and the likes. Niou and Marui were snickering at the nickname, knowing there was another person who enjoyed teasing their 'little boy.'

Tezuka and the rest of the team lined up in a single row, Yukimura and the rest of Rikkai doing the same thing.

"Let's have a good match." Tezuka said as he reached out a hand for a shake. Yukimura smiled and shook his hand.

"Off course, Tezuka-kun."

* * *

TBC…


End file.
